Why so few AP classes? 5A • New radio station 6A • Another Longhorn blowout 1B THE RIM COUNTRY’S NEWS SOURCE
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PAYSON ROUNDUP FRIDAY | MARCH 20, 2015 | PAYSON, ARIZONA
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Best of the best converge on Payson Public safety
on the line
Longhorns face tough test in quest for glory Keith Morris
roundup sports editor
Payson High’s softball team is the favorite in many people’s minds to win the first state championship in program history this season. But the Longhorns will have to get by several other teams with title aspirations of their own if they are to realize their ultimate goal. And fans can get a taste of what may unfold in the Division 3 state tournament to be held the first two weekends in May at the 11th Annual Gracie Haught Classic in Payson today and Saturday. The 20-team field includes many of the best small school programs in the state. A dozen teams in the field have won state championships, combining to claim 33 titles in all, including seven of the last nine Division 3/Class 3A state crowns. With approximately 300 players and coaches and their families and friends converging on Payson for the next two days, the tournament represents a boon for local businesses. This year’s Gracie Haught championship game at 5:30 p.m. Saturday at Payson High could very well feature a rematch of last year’s Div. 3 state final between Winslow and Payson. The Bulldogs, who have reached
• See Horns, page 10A
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It’s a near-miracle Gila County has not suffered any serious incidents or outright tragedies in the cramped, cobbled-together county court and sheriff’s facilities in Payson say public safety officials. County officials say they live with the fear of such an incident every day at the Payson county complex. Presiding Superior Court Judge Peter Cahill, Payson Justice of the Peace Dorothy Little and Gila County Sheriff Adam Shepherd shared their concerns about their facilities and their hope that a planned expansion into the recently purchased NAPA building, west of the sheriff’s office on Main, might address the safety and crowding issues. Wednesday’s mass-shooting in Mesa that left one dead and five wounded underscored the dangers posed by the overcrowded, poorly protect court and public safety facilities in Payson.
• See Court facilities, page 2A
A family tragedy Drugs, abuse shatter family, provoke 10-year prison term by
Keith Morris/Roundup
Ali Tenney (left) and Karlie Smith enjoy walking off the field following the Longhorns’ 5-0 win over Camp Verde on March 10. The team has had plenty to smile about in an 11-1 start which has seen the Horns outscore opponents 121-9. But they face their toughest challenge so far this year over the weekend at a tournament in Payson in which they face the state’s top teams.
Michele Nelson
roundup staff reporter
Making one last roar, the lion of winter brought rain to the Rim Country late Wednesday evening. The weather service said a low-pressure system strung out over the southern part of the country would bring on and off showers through Friday afternoon. Temperatures, however, will not dip below the 40s. Residents might even see a couple of bursts of lightning, just to keep things interesting. What did keep some residents on their toes — a power outage. “It had to do with a bird’s nest on a pole,” said Steven Gotfried from APS. “There were no birds or eggs on the pole and after some work, they won’t nest there anymore.” Gotfried said the outage started at 8:57 a.m. and was over by 9:01 a.m. He said the area affected went from Blueridge to Longhorn Road then from Bonita Creek to Country Club Vista. But all that gnashing and roaring will clear up for the weekend with only clouds to dot the sky and temperatures warmer than normal — a lamb-like start to spring that starts on Friday, March 20. The National Weather Service reports an “upper low across northwest Mexico” has caused moisture from the Pacific and the Gulf of Mexico to drench the deserts of the Southwest all the way to Gulf states. The hyper-local weather buffs on weather.astro50.com report the Rim Country has received about .80 inches of rain for a grand THE WEATHER
volume 26, no. 23
Alexis Bechman
roundup staff reporter
Winter leaves with a dash of snow, rain by
Teresa McQuerrey
roundup staff reporter
Weekend: Expected to be sunny into the beginning of next week with highs around 70 and overnight lows in the low 40s. Details, 9A
total of 5.80 inches for the year. Not bad. Of course, the rain feeds a proliferation of grasses that can lead to dangerous wildfire conditions, but the seasonal predictions for the Southwest give hope to a less stressful fire season.
The Climate Prediction Center of the NWS (http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/predictions/90day/fxus05.html) reports a weak El Niño condition persists in the Pacific resulting in a 50 percent chance the Southwest will see “above-median” rainfall from April through June.
A Payson man will spend the next 10 years in prison for abusing his children and other offenses. A Child Protective Services worker said Scott Dwain Bridges’ children requested that their father serve the next decade in jail. By then, his youngest child will be 18 years old and an adult. On Monday, Superior Court Judge Peter Cahill did just that, stacking the 38-year-old Bridges’ sentences and handing down aggravated prison terms for aggravated assault, DUI and possession of drug paraphernalia and a presumptive sentence for failure to appear.
A Court Appointed Special Advocate volunteer said while all of Bridges’ juvenile children are in good homes now, Bridges inflicted significant damage on them both physically and mentally. The children demonstrate significant delays in their education as well as social and emotional problems. While they attend counseling regularly, they will carry the scars of abuse the rest of their lives, she said. Bridges has five children. Bridges pleaded guilty to striking two of those children on March 14, 2013. While Bridges fought with his wife, one of those children attempted to intervene and Bridges turned his rage
• See Abuse, page 2A
C.C. Cragin refills quickly even in dry winter Despite drought 100-foot-deep lake now filled by
Pete Aleshire
roundup editor
The C.C. Cragin Reservoir (formerly Blue Ridge) has reached 90 percent of its capacity, a measure of the reliability of the reservoir on which Rim Country’s economic future largely depends. Last fall, the Salt River Project drained the 15,000-acre-foot reservoir to about 15 percent of its capacity, partly to work on pumps and outlets. In one year, the reservoir had gone from about 15,000 acre-feet to about 2,000 acre-feet. The dry winter worried water planners, with snowpacks well below normal despite a couple of big storms. Roosevelt Lake remains just half full, while the giant reservoirs along the Colorado River remain at near-record low levels. But the scattered major storms quickly refilled C.C. Cragin, which lies atop the Mogollon Rim in a small but enormously productive watershed.
Payson has a legal right to 3,000 acre-feet annually from the reservoir and is currently in the final planning stages for a 15-mile-long pipeline to bring the water from Washington Park to a not-yet-build, $7.5 million treatment facility on Houston Mesa Road.
• See C.C. Cragin, page 9A
Pete Aleshire/Roundup
While other reservoirs in the West remain half-empty, C.C. Cragin Reservoir refilled with a couple of good winter storms. The 15,000-acre-foot reservoir atop the Rim remains Rim Country’s guarantee for future water, while other towns struggle with the impact of the drought.
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Courts, sheriff need upgrade in facilities